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June 25, 2015

Rest In Peace: Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Whatever argument you have about his lifestyle ... there can be no argument about his life's work ... Michael Jackson is the greatest Black artist of all time. Consider his body of work as a child ... teenager ... and adult. He survived the test of time from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He left us too soon...

I shared my favorite MJ tune a few months ago during Old School Friday. Here is another of my favorite Michael Jackson tunes: 'Human Nature'

Truth to tell, I didn't follow young Michael much when I was a child. However, he did enter into my world during college. My night as a DJ, whether at a club, skating rink or on the radio, was never complete in 1979 unless we played 'Rock With You'. Did you know that the original title to this track was “I Want To Eat You Up.” It was changed to “Rock With You” to better fit Jackson’s image. Little did we know...

Anyhow, Michael Jackson is my selection as the GOAT ('greatest of all time'). Who would you choose for that title?

29 comments:

Separating the person from the artist seems to be a theme today with several OSF'ers. I'll tell you something about me and Michael Jackson: The J5's "ABC" was the first record I ever owned. I cut it out from the back of a cereal box! For real! LOL

Thanks for the pick and for the memories. MJ is truly the King of Pop.

In my opinion, James Brown was the GOAT from the mid 1960s into early 70s. Marvin Gayle in the mid 1970s to late 70s. Michael in the 80s and early 90s. But then various artists, groups and rappers such as Luther Vandross,50 cents and Prince took turns in late 90s into the 2000s.

Kenny - Thanx for taking time to share your comments here. I enjoy them on Facebook ... but, I think that you'll get more back & forth if you leave your comment directly on the blog. Anyhow, your GOAT observations are well-taken...

Go on and be bold, my brother. I can understand and respect those who shied away from naming a best, but I like how you stepped on out there and said HERE HE IS RIGHT HERE.

The end.

However I must take issue to some degree. While you're certainly right that Michael is truly a giant despite his recent travails, I would submit one other name that I think surpasses even him,and that would be Sammy Davis Jr.

All - Thank you for sharing your village voice on my OSF meme entry this month. I enjoyed roaming cyberspace to see who others selected. There was great diversity. I don't think that any single artist received a majority of the votes as the GOAT. That sez something about the diverse talent in our culture...

The news of Michael's death hit me hard. @PPR, lol I remember the cereal box 45! LOL! My first concert was a J5 concert. My mom got the tickets and took me and was tickled to death to watch my 6 year old self screaming for Michael with the teenage girls. From ABC to Thriller the man was a true musical genius. My prayers are with his loved ones today. So many negative comments about him on social media but he was great entertainer, a father, son and brother and the loss hits us all.

Karen & Ed - I suspect that the positive aspects of his life will dominate as we move forward. At the end of the day he was an extremely talented man who acheived landmarks in the music industry that may never be duplicated. I hope that his estate is protected in such a manner that his three children are secure in their future...

The more I got through my rolodex of Great Black Talent the more I think you just may be right about Michael's Greatest of All Time status, at least in terms of overall impact on the entertainment world. I would argue a few others ahead of him in terms of ability - the primary one being Sammy Davis Jr. - but no one reached the heights that Michael did. That's for sure.

There are many songs of Michael's that I love and as a young girl I (as all other young girls did!) had the biggest crush. As I got older I fell out of love and as an adult I liked his music less and less but no one can every say that he did not have talent and break multiple barriers for the generation of performers that came after him.I hope he is finally at peace, something I think eluded him in life. This is definitely a loss of an awesome talent. RIP - MJJ.

All - I enjoyed visiting the other OSF blog posts today. I learned much about Michael Jackson that I didn't know before. It is likely I will continue to have some Michael Jackson posts over the coming days. Currently, my Twitter avatar is dedicated to the King of Pop. It will stay that way until he is laid to rest.

Thank you to everyone that took time to share your village voice with us on this OSF post...